A new discovery has revealed the oldest tea in the world buried in the Mausoleum of Han Emperor Jing near Xi'an, in China, recent Scientific Reports 6 published this event. The research was made by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Prof Dorian Fuller, the executive director of ICCHA, and Dr YANG Xiaoyan, the former Leverhulme visiting scholar, were involved in this research and publication. "The discovery shows how modern science can reveal important previously unknown details about ancient Chinese culture. The identification of the tea found in the emperor's tomb complex gives us a rare glimpse into very ancient traditions which shed light on the origins of one of the world's favourite beverages," commented Prof Fuller.

Special Exhibitions: What's on in China?

Publication date:
4 September 2015

If you happen to be in Hong Kong, Beijing or other
Chinese cities over the summer, and would like to know more about the Chinese
way of life and the dynastical legacies, you are recommended to visit the local
museums. Each of them collects and displays a lot of precious historic relics unique
in their provinces but useful in understanding how Chinese culture diversifies
and influences people’s lifestyles and heritage.

China’s Tusi Sites Listed as World Heritage

2014 Annual Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of China Announced

Publication date:
24 April 2015

On April 9th 2015, China Cultural Relics Newspaper and Chinese Archaeological Society jointly announced the result of the 2014 Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of China, an annual activity commissioned by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and regarded as the Oscar Award in the Chinese archaeology community since 1990.

Origin of Rice: A Conversation with Archaeobotanist Prof Dorian Fuller

Publication date:
14 November 2013

The 7th International Rice Genetics Symposium (RG7) was held between 5 and 8 November 2013 in Manila, Philippines. Organized by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the event is one of the world’s largest and most important rice research symposium. It provides an excellent learning and networking platform for rice researchers, experts and representatives from the public and private sectors to come together to share their expertise on issues of rice production. Professor Dorian Fuller has presented his current archaeological research on "the origins and spread of rice in Asia" to a packed auditorium the first morning of the conference. He also had the opportunity to take part in an IRRI radio podcast on the "Origin of Rice". To listen this wonderful conversation, please go here.

New Publications on China

First farming from China to Southeast Asia

Publication date:
9 July 2013

Prof Dorian Fuller's world-leading research on the development of agriculture is being presented as a series of public events in China. Following his talk in Guangdong Province in 4 July, Dorian continued his journey to Yunnan Province. On 8 July, Dorian gave a lecture at Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology entitled "At the crossroads of Asian agriculture: Yunnan and the comparative study of pathways to agriculture in China and tropical Asian".

Prof Fuller to give public lecture in Guangdong Museum

Publication date:
30 June 2013

Prof Dorian Fuller, Executive Director (UK) of the International Centre for Chinese Heritage and Archaeology, is invited to give a public lecture at Guangdong Provincial Museum, China on July 4 2013. The lecture is entitled "First Farming from China to Southeast Asia: Guangdong's place in the Origins of Agriculture", as a part of result of Prof Fuller's outstanding Early Rice Project. Hopefully, a series of archaeobotanical collaborations on the Early Rice will be launched between China and UCL in the name of the ICCHA.

Chinese Researchers visit IoA for Ceramics Analysis Training

Publication date:
7 May 2013

Between 17-28 April 2013, researchers Zhang Shangxin and Shao Wenbin from the Museum of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum visited IoA for the purpose of specialist training in archaeological ceramic analysis.

Oxford Bibliographies: Chinese Studies

Publication date:
25 April 2013

The first set of articles in Oxford Bibliographies: Chinese Studies is now
online. Several UK China Studies people have been involved as authors or
editors. The first batch of 54 articles covers a range of topics, a
somewhat larger number are in process and over 300 are being planned. For more details and the access to the bibliographies, please click here.

9th Worked Bone Research Group Meeting Held in Zhengzhou, China

Publication date:
15 March 2013

The 9th
meeting of Worked Bone Research Group (WBRG) will be held in Zhengzhou, Henan
Province, from 14th to the 20th of April 2013, hosted by Henan Administration
of Cultural Heritage and the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage.

Chinese University Rankings in Archaeology 2012

Publication date:
1 March 2013

University rankings are usually a topic of interest at University College London, since we often do reasonably well in such exercises. We were consequently interested to read the latest Chinese University rankings, published in January 2013. The Ministry of Education, Chinese Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Centre (CDGDC) has undertaken a National Academic Discipline Evaluation of universities offering postgraduate degrees in the list of national first level disciplines in 2012.

IoA appointed Dr Zhuang Yijie the Lecturer in Chinese Archaeology

Publication date:
1 March 2013

We are here pleased to announce that Dr ZHUANG Yijie has recently been appointed as Lecturer in Chinese Archaeology by UCL, Institute of Archaeology. Dr. Zhuang completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge and had taken up a Junior Research Fellowship at Merton College of the University of Oxford, after his BA training in Northwest University and MA degree in Peking University. His PhD dissertation, entitled "Geoarchaeological Investigation of Early Agriculture, Ecological Diversity and Landscape Change in the Early Neolithic of North China", focused on key issues concerning early agriculture, ecological diversity and evolution of people, environment and landscape in the early Neolithic. Apart from continuing the research on ecology of early agriculture in China, he is also involved in a number of collaborative projects in investigating the relationships between intensified land use, increased erosion and the development of early civilizations across the Eurasian continent. Dr Zhuang will start his position with IoA in September 2013.

24 Jan. Chinese Archaeology Lecturer Jobtalks

Publication date:
21 January 2013

You are invited to attend the candidate presentations for our new Lecturer in Chinese Archaeology post, which take place on Thursday 24 January. Presentations are being held in Room 612 and all staff and students are welcome.

As part of the Rising Scholars series of China Night
seminars, the ICCHA is pleased to host the seminar "Ashes to beauty - the
earliest lime-rich glaze in China and its modern replication" by Min
Yin at the Institute on 25 October. Room 209, Institute of Archaeology. Min Yin is a completing PhD student at UCL. [abstract/ poster in PDF]

New UK director for ICCHA

Publication date:
18 October 2012

The steering committee of the ICCHA met in Doha, Qatar, hosted by Professor Thilo Rehren of UCL Qatar. Thilo, who is now director in UCL Qatar, stepped down from the position of executive director of the centre, although he remains on the steering committee. Professor Dorian Fuller has been appointed to take over as the UK Executive Director of the ICCHA. Also at this meeting, forthcoming publications from ICCHA conferences were discussed as well as initial plans for our next conference in 2014, with a focus on "a comparative perspective on the origins of Chinese Civilization."